Why Bright Minds Still Get Dim About Dispatchable Power

By: Ralph Rodriguez

You’ve seen it. Maybe at a conference, in an article, or on your cousin’s overly confident LinkedIn post. Someone smart, with degrees on the wall and a TEDx talk under their belt, boldly declaring that solar and wind will soon replace all fossil fuels and nuclear, and provide reliable, around-the-clock power.

Bless their hearts.

This article is not about dunking on renewables. It is about explaining, with a little humor and a lot of clarity, why dispatchable baseload power is still a thing and why pretending otherwise makes the energy transition harder, not easier.

Energy vs. Power. It’s Not Just Semantics

Think of energy like calories and power like metabolism. You might eat 2,500 calories a day, but if your body can’t convert them fast enough while you’re running from a bear, well… nature takes its course.

Solar and wind often produce plenty of energy across the year. But when the grid needs power in real time, on demand and instantly, these sources cannot be counted on unless they are backed up by something firm.

Batteries, gas, hydro, or unicorns.

The Grid Is Not a Giant Battery. At Least Not Yet

Let’s address the fantasy.

“We’ll just store the extra power!”

Storing grid-scale energy isn’t like charging your phone. It’s like trying to store a lake in a bucket. Technically possible, but not practical at scale, cost, or duration. Batteries are improving, yes. But we do not have enough lithium, land, or money to make every cloudy week or still night a non-event.

Physics Doesn’t Care About Narratives

This is where the conversation usually turns awkward.

People get passionate about solar and wind. And for good reason.

Clean, low marginal cost, decentralized. But somewhere along the way, passion becomes doctrine. And physics, poor thing, gets kicked to the curb.

The grid needs frequency control, voltage stability, and inertia. These are things inverter-based renewables don’t natively provide. It’s like building a car that is beautiful, efficient, and eco-friendly… but doesn’t have brakes or a steering wheel.

Models vs. Reality. Also Known as the Great Simulation

Some of the brightest minds base their optimism on energy models that look fantastic on a slide.

The problem? Models are like IKEA instructions. Great until you realize your house doesn’t have the right kind of Allen wrench.

Many models assume:

• Unlimited interconnection between regions
• Near-perfect weather forecasting
• Citizens who happily curtail usage when asked
• Infinite storage at near-zero cost

Reality has none of those things. Yet.

What We Can Do Instead of Pretending

Let’s stop asking wind and solar to do what they weren’t built to do.

Let’s:

• Pair them with firm, dispatchable generation such as natural gas, hydro, or nuclear
• Invest in transmission and storage, but be honest about their limitations
• Design energy strategies that work with physics, not against it

You wouldn’t build a data center with no UPS or generator and say “The grid will handle it.” So why design a national grid that way?

Acai Berries and Endless Energy

Smart people can believe silly things when the narrative is powerful enough. I say this with confidence, because I’ve definitely been that guy. Once believed acai berries could unlock limitless energy. Still waiting.

But in all seriousness, a more resilient future won’t come from better slogans. It will come from better systems.

And those systems need power on demand, not just when the sun feels like it.

Let’s raise the Energy IQ.

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Ralph Rodriguez, LEED AP OM is the Energy Ninja and Legend Energy Advisors manages:

1. Over $2 Billion in commodity risk for our clients (Both Power and Natural Gas in Regulated and De-regulated Energy Markets).
2. Real-time Energy Analytics (PUE) in some of the most energy intense industries in N. America.
3. Utility & Energy Infrastructure Advisory at a level that is different than traditional advisors, consultants, and engineers.

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